HALO'S UPSHOT LAYS OFF 23

(June 8, 2001) -- Halo Industries' Upshot laid off from its Chicago office 23 employees, or 13.5% of that staff, leaving the shop with 147 staffers.

The cuts, which took place on Wednesday, were made at all levels and across all departments, a spokeswoman said.

The job cuts were "in response to what everyone in our business is going through," the spokeswoman said. "There's been a slowdown in the economy."

Earlier this year, Upshot trimmed 20 jobs when it lost the Mirage Resorts account, when Mirage was bought by MGM.

Upshot is the only marketing services shop still owned by Halo, which sold telemarketing unit Market USA and brand identity group Lipson Alport Glass & Associates earlier this year to pay off debts and focus on its core promotional products division, Halo Branded Solutions. -- Cara Beardi